Subnational reforms for the business environment

The session presents: 1) key findings from the World Bank/DG Regio Subnational Business-Ready Programme, which uncovered national and local reforms and bottlenecks in the field of private sector development and regional competitiveness. The session will focus on concrete examples of how countries and regions have been using this diagnostic to inform their reform agenda; and 2) two new World Bank initiatives (developed in partnership with, among others, DG Regio) to provide evidence-based and actionable reform recommendations for policymakers on two additional essential aspects of EU regional competitiveness: a) gender disparities in the private sector; and b) energy efficiency of buildings.